Good Soil

Deer hunting and food plots go hand and hand for the modern day sportsman. We here at Tecomate have spent lots of time and money developing the seeds and seed blends that go into our products. However, though our seed may be very good, one must consider the soil to ensure a good food plot. There is a lot that goes into planting a food plot. The hardened ground must be disked up, the weeds and other competing vegetation must be taken out, and many additives may be needed to put into the soil. As a wildlife consultant one of the first things I do in formulating a plan for a client is taking a soil sample. This tells me what additives I need, such as lime and fertilizer, to put into the soil to make it fertile and fruitful.

Matthew 13:3-9 “And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

For the next few devotions we are going to take this 2,000-year-old story, that is still very familiar today, and apply it to our lives. As we ponder this epic parable let us first look to the three main characters in the story. First, the Sower: For our little twist of this story, the sower is the one planting the food plot. Just picture yourself several months ago sowing your food plots. Second, the Seed: Think about the seed you sowed on your food plots. Did you use the best seeds and enough seed on your plots? And lastly, the Soil: Think about the soil’s condition before you planted your food plot and after you planted your food plot. What did you do to the soil, if anything at all, to ensure the best food plot on your property?

Now that we have taken this story and made it applicable to our lives, let us look to these three characters again to see them in a heavenly view. First, the Soil: This is mankind’s heart. I put this as the first character because this is what Jesus’ main focus was on. Second, the Seed: This is the Word of God. The basic idea of the parable is for the seed, God’s Word, to find fertile ground in the hearts of man. Third, the Sower: This is ultimately the Lord. This, however, can be applied to any Christian spreading God’s Word.

The take home message for this parable is we need to prepare our hearts making it as fertile and fruitful as it can be. The seed is good. There is nothing one can do to the seed to improve on it. It just needs to find its place into our hearts and allow it to take root. However, we need to do all we can do to our soil to make that happen. Then, the seed will grow in our lives developing a product that is useful to the Lord. Do you want to be spiritually productive for the Lord? Does your life bear obvious spiritual fruit? Simply allow your spiritual ears to hear God’s Word and let it resonate in your heart, and your life will be fruitful.

We will look further into this parable in future devotions for more insight into being the Good Soil for the Sower, our Lord Jesus Christ.

God Bless and Happy Hunting

Posted by Mark Newell